London has been for many years now an industrial giant, and a massive breadwinner in the economic output of the entire UK. The famous Square Mile is a global hub of business and commerce, and Tech City is taking the capital in a whole new direction of entrepreneurship by harnessing the power and energy of the burgeoning tech startup industry. Almost one million companies call London their home, including branches and headquarters of many major international players. In a way, these businesses make up the lifeblood of the UK economy- they are the powerhouse on which the rest of the country relies.
One would think that, with this level of importance to the stability of the national economy, these businesses would be given every possible advantage in order to remain competitive with other companies on a global scale. Yet when it comes to the speed of their Internet connection – and thus their ability to do business effectively – a very large portion of them are currently being left hung out to dry, making life very difficult for the London IT companies who attempt to assist them.
Almost all companies, both big and small, rely on the Internet to make conducting business easier, faster, and more efficient. From processing orders to video conferencing with remote workers, the Internet has nearly endless applications in the business world. Even a temporary power outage can reveal its importance, with productivity falling so dramatically while connections are down that it is sometimes not even possible to catch up once the downtime is over! The importance of the Internet in the business world is clear to all, so why are we allowing the heart of our country to be left behind while other European cities benefit from the advantages that come with access to high speed connections?
The majority of the City of London and Central London has absolutely no access to even basic fibre Internet services. No one has bothered to even put the infrastructure in place. This is especially outrageous when one considers that many other cities within the UK, including Bristol, Birmingham, and Bolton all have access to this necessary utility, while the Prime Minister and some of the UK’s largest businesses do not. The absence of high speed fibre Internet access dulls the competitive edge of London’s businesses, and even that of the government offices there. And though government offices have no choice but to deal with it, many of London’s most profitable businesses are under no such obligation. The reality is such that, if their needs are not provided for, many valuable businesses will move out of London and into greener pastures where they can access the necessary infrastructure for doing efficient business, taking their contribution to the economy with them.